City funds its share of renovations at Ol' Colony Golf Complex

Emma Gray Luke Wingo and David Williams play golf at Ol' Colony Golf Course on May 24. A vote by the Tuscaloosa City Council has assured the $1.13 million improvement project to upgrade the Ol' Colony Golf Complex can be completed. However, the City Council on Tuesday voted to commit no more than $375,000 to the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority to cover its share of the Ol' Colony renovations.

Michelle Lepianka Carter | Tuscaloosa News

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 12:28 a.m.

TUSCALOOSA | A vote by the Tuscaloosa City Council has assured the $1.13 million improvement project to upgrade the Ol' Colony Golf Complex can be completed.

Emma Gray Luke Wingo and David Williams play golf at Ol' Colony Golf Course on May 24. A vote by the Tuscaloosa City Council has assured the $1.13 million improvement project to upgrade the Ol' Colony Golf Complex can be completed. However, the City Council on Tuesday voted to commit no more than $375,000 to the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority to cover its share of the Ol' Colony renovations.

Michelle Lepianka Carter | Tuscaloosa News

However, the City Council on Tuesday voted to commit no more than $375,000 to the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority to cover its share of the Ol' Colony renovations.

The course's greens will be converted from dwarf Bermuda grass to ultra-dwarf Bermuda grass, bunkers will be improved and nine of the 18 holes will be lengthened by extending the tee boxes.

The cost is being evenly shared between the city, the Tuscaloosa County Commission and the University of Alabama. PARA officials have said the work is time-sensitive and must be performed during warm summer months.

The course is expected to reopen in time for the Labor Day holiday.

Still pending is a decision by the City Council and the County Commission on additional funding to PARA for work for Munny Sokol and Bowers parks, certain PARA administrative facilities and Hurricane Creek Park.

The City Council tabled a vote on a remaining slate of $14.04 million worth of work to be shared with the County Commission. Of this, the city would pay 65 percent and the county 35 percent on $10.3 million worth of the work with both governments evenly sharing the remaining $3.75 million.

The vote was delayed to allow Mayor Walt Maddox to finish meeting with each of the four county commissioners and Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Hardy McCollum to discuss the city's proposal, which is a counter-offer to a proposal adopted by the County Commission in May.

The county's proposal called for a four-year, $20.2 million facilities upgrade plan for PARA.

This version consisted of a 50-50 split with Tuscaloosa City Hall on $3.1 million worth of shared community projects, a 75-25 share on $12.8 million of upgrades and new construction at Munny Sokol and Bowers parks — with the city handling the 75 percent — and $4.4 million in work that the County Commission would fund exclusively.

It also included a $4.5 million, six-court basketball complex for Bowers Park — of which the city was being asked to cover 75 percent — that has been excised from the counteroffer being considered by City Hall.

Commissioner Reginald Murray, a vocal supporter of the complex, and others said it would pay for itself by luring indoor sporting events, such as basketball, wrestling, volleyball and cheerleading tournaments.

Council President Harrison Taylor was among the city and county elected officials who balked at the construction costs and questioned the necessity of the complex, pointing to recently upgraded high school gymnasiums and the estimated $365,000 annual operational expenses for the facility.

The elected leaders of the city and county have been debating the PARA facilities upgrade plan since September. That's when the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission teamed up with PARA to present what was then a $12.1 million plan to upgrade Bowers and Sokol parks in order to generate additional revenue to the city and county governments through tournaments and other events that the city is now unable to host.